God is moving throughout the world and I am so excited to be a part of what He's doing! Recently the Celebration Athens team had the privilege of meeting Nico Bougas who is with Hellenic Ministries. Hellenic Ministries is doing wonderful things in Athens and throughout Greece & I am excited that we will be partnering with them. They reach the communities in Greece by serving love meals to refugees, reaching youth through worship events & sports camps, evangelistic outreaches, and missions. A new ministry that has been started and has touched my heart, as a registered nurse who worked with infants & young mothers for more that 9 years, is The Hope Center that they are in the process of building/renovating.
(an excerpt from their web site) In Greece more than 250,000 abortions take place every year, of which 40,000 happen to girls under the age of 16. Many women have had more than one abortion. The act of having an abortion not only kills the baby, but it has also been discovered to cause long-term psychological and emotional damage to many women as well as to the men who are involved.
With no shelter of its kind in Athens, a sprawling city of 5 million people with one of the highest abortion rates in the world, there is great need for a crisis pregnancy center/home. Our desire is to provide counseling and encouragement for girls to give life to their unborn children and not to seek an abortion. We want to offer ‘Hope’ and a safe refuge for girls to stay in during their pregnancy. We plan to help girls get set up in their new life with their baby after they leave our Center, or if they choose to consider adoption, we aim to help them with that process by offering legal support. Our prayer is that God will meet each girl in her place of need during her pregnancy, and that she will find refuge in Him and a way to walk forward in strength.
I have been in touch with Sarah who is in charge of The Hope Center and I can't wait to meet with her once I get to Athens. I know God is in the midst of all of the many divine appointments that each of us on the team have encountered. We continue to take steps of faith, trusting and believing God for big things! He is a big God and nothing is impossible for Him!
I am believing God for my finances to be in order so I can be on the ground in Athens sometime in March. As it quickly approaches it is my prayer that if you are not already a partner in the mission with me, that you'll search your hearts and ask God what your part might be. I am excited to be the hands and feet of those partnering with me here in the states, as I make myself available to serve those living in Athens ministering hope so that God can touch and change there lives. Please continue to pray for the Celebration Athens team, Hellenic Ministries and those working on The Hope Center. Check out the link below and get to know Hellenic Ministries
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcQYl7jcD9U
Love & Blessings
~Tracy~
